Here we are! The beginning of the end. Four designers left. Four designers to battle it out for one of three spots in the Finale. Four designers to bore me to death for an hour and a half with their sob stories.
Heidi lets the designers know that they will have 6 weeks and 9000 dollars to complete a 10 look collection. Make it work… Work hard… Wow us… blah blah blah, nobody watches this show for you Heidi. Give us Tim and awkward family dinners please.
Tim Visit’s The Designer’s Homes!!!
Waiane, HI – Andy
Tim meets Andy in paradise. Like real paradise. No five star hotel or high rise in Honolulu, Andy is out on his mom’s farm and it couldn’t be more beautiful. His mother, who we met briefly when the moms came to visit the designers a few weeks back, is adorable and seems to be very proud of her son. So Andy is from paradise and his mother loves him, but where is the hardship? He better find a “down on my luck, I need this more because” story quick. Quick, cue the crazed fish! Yeah, you see Andy had to do chores growing up, like feeding the fish (um, because that’s hard labor) so he is rising above… or something inspirational like that. You know because fish feeders rarely amount to anything.
Two weeks before fashion week and he doesn’t have anything to show Tim because he’s been waiting for his hand made fabric from Laos to be delivered. He is inspired by Laos, a Buddhist park there, and his grandfather who was an elephant herder.
Palm Springs, CA – Michael
Michael is all goofy smiles when Tim shows up and can’t wait to show off his collection which is inspired by the sky and feathers.
Time Out… I am already really worried for Michael. This is freaking Project Runway Season 9! You cannot send a collection down the Fashion Week runway that is inspired by the sky and feathers! You remember Jeffery? His final collection was based off on Japanese Nightmares. Jay’s Fashion Week collection, even way back when in season 1, was about urban kids hiding behind all different kinds of music. This is go big or go home time, Michael! Feathers and um looking up, isn’t going to cut it. I fear for him on the runway. Time In…
Michael shows Tim some of his line and the feather tutu dress is pretty, but I feel like I’ve seen it before. Oh, and of course he has made like 5000 dresses for a 10 piece look, this Michael we are talking about. Tim reminds him to edit and tells him to stop making dresses.
Then there is a very awkward scene where Michael tells Tim his son is really looking forward to seeing him again (he came to New York to visit during the mom visits), except when Tim enters the room and says hello to the kid the kid looks like he just wants to run and hide under his bed. Michael introduces Tim to his friends and not his family since they don’t really support him. And his buddy once OUTTED MICHAEL TO HIS FAMILY!!! OMG!!! STRAIGHT MICHAEL ISN’T STRAIGHT!!! Straight Michael is really “slightly less flamboyant but still likes it up the ass” Michael.
Denver, CO – Mondo
Mondo’s house and work space is like Punk Barbie’s dream house on crack. It’s awesome. He was inspired by Mexican tile work and Mexico City, but like a dark “Dia De Los Muertos” Mexico City. He calls is “polished” Mondo.
Tim then has another very awkward dinner. This one includes Mondo’s parents and his sister. Sister starts to cry and I can’t decide if it’s because she is proud of her brother or if it’s because the awkwardness of the table is too much for her to take and she just wants a way out. Mondo’s mom explains to Tim, the other gay man at the table, that she tried to make him normal. She and her husband tried to make him a “macho man”. Mondo then explains that in order to play the piano growing up, his parents made him play baseball. Somehow I understand just a little bit better that Mondo never told his parents he was HIV positive.
Portland, OR – Gretchen
Gretchen went back to Portland after the last challenge and was dumped by her boyfriend and had no money in her bank account. This is sad.
……(This is me trying to be sad for Gretchen)
There are then a few weird scenes of Gretchen and her mom packing up boxes and it’s hard to tell if they are her collection boxes, if she’s being evicted, or if she’s moving out of her and her ex-boyfriend’s place. She is embarrassed for Tim to see this. Tim gives her a little talk about how once he had his heart broken and it led to him moving to New York, and he really might be the most amazing man. I mean, Gretchen told him about her heart ache and he brought the story around to him and it didn’t seem like he was taking her spotlight or stealing her thunder. If this had been the Tyra Banks show it would have been a whole lot different.
Gretchen’s line is inspired by nature and tribes from around the world. She wants the pieces to be very wearable. She has also designed jewelry to go along with her looks and I wonder if this is a new requirement, because it seems like almost all of them did this.
Back To New York!!!
All the designers are put up in the swanky Hilton and then given free vacations from Hilton in a 10 minutes scene that should have been cut. Seriously, in the words of Co-Worker #1, “I’m dying here”. Boring…
But then Tim comes in and lets the designers know that they will be showing the judges three looks to decide who makes it to Fashion Week, two of the looks they spend 6 weeks on and one new look they must make in two days.
Andy decides to bring some glamour into his collection with a “wow” piece. He buys a whole lot of green fabric and starts to make some interesting pleats. Mondo makes a knit dress and then, after the entire first day, scraps it because he thinks it looks to “junior” and I completely agree. Good eye Mondo my love. Gretchen wants to make a day look and designs an adorable little dress, although in a pretty boring army green color. Michael is making a pretty dress, but can’t for the life of him pick out the other pieces he wants to send down the runway with it. Tim then tells him not to choke and the other designers to keep up the good work.
Runway!!!
Heidi’s hair is looking a heck of a lot better now that it’s a little grown out, and there is no guest judge.
Andy: First of all, I don’t understand the headgear. If he was inspired by Laos and elephant herders, why are his models wearing space alien headbands that are two feet tall? My favorite is actually the romper. (Words I never thought would leave my mouth.) I like the green dress. The color is amazing. The pleats are perfect, but I think it needs to be three inches longer. I can’t remember if Gretchen or Mondo made the comment that Andy’s line is beautiful, but lacks texture and dimension and I completely agree. The pleats and ruffles are gorgeous, but kinda fall flat. Oh, and that swimsuit top looks like a Lyrical Dance outfit. Heidi loves the colors and Kors loves the pleating. Nina worries that there might not be a range to his looks, and he counters her point by letting them know he purposely didn’t show them his “wow” pieces because he wants to save them for the final runway. Um, okay. They, and I, both feel like this is a huge mistake, but they let him slide. Andy is showing at Fashion Week.
Gretchen: I love the little dress she made in the two days. The back is especially cool. I also like some of her jewelry, but think she went a little over board with accessories. There are bags and necklaces and ear rings and hats… oh my. And yeah, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that I love the hat/leatherjacket/diaper look. Yeah, that’s right. I would rock that hat and jacket, maybe not the diaper but it makes for an interesting look coming down the runway. Heidi says she isn’t in love with the looks, but her interest has been “peaked”. Nina, on the other hand, is not “peaked”. She rips Gretchen a new one for being boring, granola, and crunchy. She says Gretchen has no drama and doesn’t understand that that a fashion show is just that, a show. The looks need more “oomph”. Kors doesn’t think it looks expensive and they all tell her she need to do better on her styling for the big show. So, yeah, Gretchen is on for Fashion Week.
Mondo: A few things bother me about these looks. One is the shoes, they are UGLY. The second is a blue shirt. I feel like blue is a good color choice, just not this blue. It makes the look look cheap, especially with the pink around the cuffs. Other than that, I kinda love everything. I love the black and white long dress. I think it’s unique and fits amazing. I love that it is sexy as hell, but long sleeves. The judges agree with me about the blue shirt and are torn on the long dress. Kors really likes that the pieces seem to mix and match very easily. Nina, who is kinda bitchy to everyone, then starts ranting about how Mondo needs to not be to “circus like”. Okay, so Gretchen is too boring and Mondo is too over the top? WFT Nina? What about McQueen and Vivian Westwood and hell even Chanel? Their runways are all crazy over the top. Anyway, Mondo is through to Fashion Week like we all knew he would be.
Michael: That leaves Michael. Poor, totally not straight, Michael. His new dress is beautiful and the color couldn’t be any better for the model's skin tone. It looks expensive and polished and effortless. Again, I like the feather dress, but I’ve seen it before. I really like the sequin pants, but again I have seen them before. Marc Jacobs anyone???
Kors praises the new dress for being perfect at every angle. Heidi likes the pants and fringe top. The problem the judges really have with Michael’s line is the color and over working. I knew he would be called out for a weak inspiration, and yes just like Kors says color does not make a collection. You can’t just send a bunch of pink and copper dresses down the runway and expect everyone to think it’s a sky collection. They think his dresses are a little over worked, and he says he wanted to show them the best. I wish he would have remembered that every challenge he won this season it was because his dresses were effortless and simply beautiful. Michael is sent home.
Okay, let’s talk about what happened after the runway show. There is clearly something wrong with Michael. I feel like there is no way a normal person reacts this way. It is painful to watch. He regresses into a childish state crying into the corner. I hope his parents really aren’t the horrible people he makes us believe they might be. I hope he grows from this experience and becomes successful.
Next Time on Project Runway… Everyone from this season meets back up and FASHION WEEK!!!
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